The gunman who allegedly fatally wounded a police officer over the weekend, left a suicide note before going on a shooting spree, officials have said.

San Diego-based officer Jeremy Henwood was pulling away from traffic lights on Saturday when Dejon Marquee White's car pulled up alongside him and he unloaded his shotgun.

Following the unprovoked attack, police later cornered the armed 23-year-old and killed him. After searching his apartment, they found a two-page suicide note.

Officer Jeremy Henwood (left) was shot dead in an unprovoked attack on Saturday. Dejon Marquee White (right) is alleged to have carried out the shooting, and left a suicide note before the spree

Sitting alone in his car the 36-year-old policeman was allegedly attacked by White, and died in hospital yesterday.

Investigators have said that they can determine no motive for the shooting of the police officer.

Before the weekend's shooting White was described as a 'petty criminal', and he had previously resisted arrest and performed minor thefts.

The suicide letter did not inform readers as to how he was going to kill himself, or for what reasons, however he was linked to another shooting on Saturday - before Mr Henwood was shot dead.

Outside an In-N-Out Burger restaurant located in El Cajon, 14 miles away from where the police officer was gunned down, Martin Hanna was shot at point-blank range - while in his car sitting with his girlfriend - with a shotgun.

Police were trying to determine whether there was any link between White and Mr Hanna, who is expected to recover, though he is still in a critical condition.

The alleged shooter is then believed to have sped away in an Audi car and he was travelling so quickly that he caught the attention of a patrol car, who gave chase yet was unable to keep up with the vehicle, which was reported to have been moving at over 100 miles per hour.

Dejon Marquee White's Audi vehicle is shown, following his death. The 23-year-old was killed by police officers after he allegedly reached for his shotgun

Shortly afterwards, Mr Henwood was either stopped or moving slowly when a black Audi
with temporary plates flashed its headlights and drove to the left-hand side of his car.

The suspect is then reported to have pointed a gun out of the passenger window and fired, according to police.

Witnesses then used the dying officer's radio to
call for assistance and performed first aid until paramedics arrived and took him to hospital.

'A kind man': San Diego police chief William Lansdowne led the tributes to Mr Henwood, who also served for the U.S. military in Afghanistan

A short time after the attack, officers
tracked the Audi to an apartment complex and saw a man with a shotgun climb into the car and begin to drive away.

Several squad cars then blocked the road and converged on White in order to make the arrest.

Officers then opened fire when he allegedly made to grab his shotgun, according to a police statement, and he died at the scene.

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Mr Henwood, who leaves behind
his parents, a brother and a sister, was also a captain in the U.S. Marine
Corps Reserve and had recently returned from a one-year deployment to
Afghanistan.

'Jeremy is a dedicated public servant
- he served his country in the military and he served this great city
in the San Diego police department,' said police chief William
Landsdowne, who led the tributes, yesterday.

'He also believed that he was a protector and he had a responsibility to help others. He was a great asset to the San Diego police department.

'I could tell you that this was a senseless killing - this was an assassination.'

Meanwhile, in a written statement by Brian Marvel, president of the San Diego Police Officers Association, which also set up a trust fund for Mr Henwood's family, wrote: 'We are saddened by this senseless and cowardly act that has taken away a true hero.

'Having recently returned from deployment in Afghanistan, Officer Henwood was continuing to serve the community just as he had served his country - with honour and respect.'

San Diego mayor Jerry Sanders added: 'This tragedy is another grim
reminder that our police officers put their lives on the line every day
to protect our community, and we are grateful for their courage and
sacrifice.'

Mr Henwood had been serving in the
police force for four years and was the second San Diego officers to die
in action in only 10 months.

In October last year Christopher Wilson, a 17-year department veteran, was killed in a shoot-out, along with two other people.

The 50-year-old father-of-two was the first San Diego officer to be killed in the line of duty in more than six years.